Review: Disney On Ice 100 Years Of Magic

Wow. That's really a good summary of it, but I suppose I ought to say more. The other night, Feld Entertainment kindly invited me to go see Disney on Ice at the United Center with my family.

I haven't taken the wee ones to too many "events" because they tend to be ummm not really something I'm that interested in (so I make my parents take them if my parents insist on going) or because it's too expensive to justify. Disney on Ice takes away both those excuses.

First, they are still at the United Center until Sunday September 13, and you can get tickets for $44 for a four pack (with $11 additional tickets). Good seats are still available, as my friend who is now going on Sunday in row 16 can attest. She bought her tickets yesterday after Mister Man didn't stop raving about it the entire twenty-five minute drive to school. Just visit Ticketmaster and use code MOM.

While I was treated to this (thank you again, Feld Entertainment!), if I weren't going to a football game on Saturday and a birthday party on Sunday -- yes, at Pump It Up, shockingly -- I'd take the wee ones again.

It. Rocked.

The skaters told many of the traditional Disney stories from Pinocchio to Beauty and the Beast to The Incredible to The Lion King and more. Partway through the first story, I was pretty impressed at who they hired to do the voices because it sounded a whole lot like Robin Williams as the Genie in Aladdin. Well, I finally figured it out partway into the song that DUH! that's because they took sound clips from the movies to do the majority of the scenes. It was the little touches like that which really made the evening special.

I missed most of the scene changes because I was so captivated by the stories and the singing. There was a castle backdrop that looked like the traditional Cinderella castle. Until it transformed into the Chinese castle from Mulan. Until it changed into something more appropriate for Toy Story. Until it was more like The Lion King. How they did all that I don't know ... especially because I never saw it happening.

The wee ones loved it. Little Miss is a little ball of energy who never sits still. She stayed in her seat. Generally without moving, except to periodically wave at the characters who really interacted with the audience. Or to clap. Or sometimes to tell me excitedly that she'd just seen another character she recognized. That just doesn't happen.

The show is broken into two acts, with an intermission so

more goodies can be sold

everyone who needs to go to the bathroom can do so. I took that opportunity to take Little Miss to the bathroom to put on her pjs -- see smart mama!

As we were walking up the steps, she thought the show was over. She looked at me with her eyes shining and face bright with excitement. I loved it, Mommy. I just loved it! That was her summary.

If you're not in Chicago, you aren't out of luck. This is continuing to tour until just after the new year. See cities and dates below. I believe the code MOM will work for all these shows, but don't quote me if I'm wrong on that. It's always worth a try, right?

Sunrise: September 17-20, 2009
Dayton/Cincinnati: September 17-27, 2009
Miami: September 23-27, 2009
Auburn Hills: September 30 – October 4, 2009
Charlotte: October 8-11, 2009
Philadelphia: October 14-18, 2009
Atlanta: October 14-18, 2009
Oakland/San Jose: October 14-25, 2009
Fairfax: October 21-25, 2009
Sacramento: October 28 – November 1, 2009
Baltimore: October 28 – November 1, 2009
Uniondale: November 10-15, 2009
Houston: November 11-15, 2009
NYC: November 17-22, 2009
East Rutherford: November 24-29, 2009
Denver/Broomfield: December 3-13, 2009
St. Paul: December 9-13, 2009
Los Angeles: December 17-20, 2009
Toronto: December 18-27, 2009
Anaheim: December 22-27, 2009
Philadelphia: December 23 – January 3, 2010
Boston: December 26-29, 2009
Ontario: December 30 – January 3, 2010
Cleveland: January 8 -18, 2009

So go. Really. Go.

The only thing I was disappointed by was my camera. I realized I don't have a sport setting (I took no flash pictures!), so my pictures aren't great. I'll upload them tomorrow to leave you with a sense of what you'll see -- or at least a blurred image of our experience. Someday I'll get a "good" camera.

Even better, I've heard rumors that there will be additional shows from Feld Entertainment coming up over the next several months that may (may) include ticket giveaways and more discount codes, though I can't promise they'll be quite this cheap! Keep a lookout for those.

And yes, I still have Disney songs going through my head. And it's forty-eight hours later. And the wee ones are still talking about it. I may have spoiled them forever. But it was all worth it.